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Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Flounce Fire Grows to 600 Acres

A
force of more than 300 firefighters worked throughout the day to relocate fire
lines on the northeast and northwest flanks of the Flounce Fire, burning on
private and Bureau of Land Management forestlands roughly 12 miles northeast of
Shady Cove. The fire grew along these flanks today but a wide
bulldozer-constructed fire line along the southern end of the fire held as wind
gusts put it to the test. Although a few spot fires were located outside of the
western flank, they were knocked down and contained rapidly.

As
of this evening, the Flounce Fire has reached 600 acres and is eight percent
contained.

Fire
camp was set up today at Touvelle State Park off Table Rock Road in Central
Point. The park will remain closed to the public until further notice. Please
be cautious of increased fire traffic throughout the area.

Early
this morning, a Level One (Be Ready) evacuation notice was issued by Jackson County Emergency
Management for
residents on Evergreen Drive and Lewis Road near Prospect. The evacuation order
will remain in effect until further notice as a precautionary measure, as we
anticipate additional thunderstorms this week. A structural protection strike
team stood by today to protect homes and other structures in the event the
wildfire posed a threat. The team is assembled from engines and personnel from
fire districts in Jackson and Josephine counties.

Overnight,
the focus is to continue to improve control lines surrounding the homes under
the evacuation order.

“We
need to take advantage of the weather when we can. The fire did receive a fair
amount of rain which means we have an opportunity to cover a lot of ground
tonight,” said Herb Johnson, Flounce Fire Incident Commander.

Tomorrow
at 5:00 a.m., the local ODF Southwest Oregon District Type 3 Incident
Management Team will be handing off the Flounce Fire to the Oregon Department
of Forestry Incident Management Team I. This will alleviate our local resources
so that they can continue to have an aggressive initial attack throughout
Jackson and Josephine Counties.

The
Flounce Fire was first reported at 4:56 p.m. Monday. The cause is attributed to
lightning that stemmed from a thunderstorm Monday afternoon.

Thunderstorms
are anticipated for the next two days. With ODF Southwest Oregon District
resources already stretched thin, we are encouraging everyone to hold each
other responsible for following fire restrictions currently in place. Don’t let
your actions become a statistic.

The
fire danger level on Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands in Jackson
and Josephine counties is “extreme” (red) today. For a full list of the public
restrictions currently in place, visit our Facebook page: @ODFSouthwest or our website: www.swofire.com.